A r G o
by Storm-Eyes-Osprey
Summary: When his plans to rescue Calypso ended in disaster, Leo Valdez has been more alone than ever. His only distraction: working on the Argo II. Then, one night, she appears. The girl with the Golden eyes. The girl in the bronze plated dress. the girl who wears a dragon helmet. The girl who has no memories. The girl who feels no sense of pain. The girl whose name is Argo.
1. Chapter 1: The stranger

**A r G o**

**Chapter one: The stranger**

The lashing rain just about matched Leo Valdez's mood. Pooling on the ground, mixing with the leaves and the mud, it provided what was, quite frankly, an utterly depressing atmosphere to the forest trail to bunker nine. But then again, since _that_, the route had always been depressing, rain or shine. All because of a single immortal girl who broke Leo's heart. After preparing for months, the son of Hephaestus had finally managed to do the impossible; reach Ogygia twice. But, on his arrival, it wasn't the joyful reunion he had expected. He found Calypso in her cave, tending to someone. Another demigod, lost during the war. And that was it. All it took to force him from the island, vowing never to return. One sight.

And now he was alone.

To distract himself from the pain of heartbreak, Leo threw himself into work, trudging through the forest to the secret underground bunker where his item of work resided. The Argo II. After the dramatic conclusion to the war with Gaea, the flying ship had been unused, left in the bunker, but the son of Hephaestus wasn't giving up on his creation. Instead, he devoted most of his time into upgrading everything upon the ship; the oars, the hull, even the dragon masthead, Festus.

Seeing the comforting shape of the rock that guarded the entrance to the Bunker, shielding one hand with the other from the rain, Leo let a small flame jump to life on the palm of his hand, pressing the heat to the secret door, and stepped into the dark, yawning entrance, shaking his hair free of rain. Sighing, he walked towards the dim glow at the end of the tunnel, and surveyed the lightly shining form of the Argo II resting peacefully in the middle of the huge, cavernous room. Moving over to an occupied workbench, he picked up some tools and began to work on a project he had started a few weeks ago; a machine that would manipulate the mist around the Argo II to make it appear as anything he felt like. Tweaking experimentally with some wires, he took a deep breath and switched the 'on' button. A large explosion rocked the room, and Leo plunged for cover under a bench as shards of metal spun through the air, sparks falling to the ground like rain.

"Not doing that again…" He grumbled to himself, hauling out from under the table, and studying the damage. Sighing in relief, he realised that the funnel was the only thing to have exploded, so he found a replacement part and began fitting it into place before disconnecting some more wires, spotting the problem. Preparing to duck out of the way, he flicked the machine back on and grinned as it began churning out a wispy white substance. Fingers flying quickly over the keypad on the side, he held a wrench inside the Mist and laughed as it changed into a cheeseburger right in front of his eyes. He hit it off the table experimentally and snorted as it made a loud metal clanging sound.

"Metal burgers…" He mused to himself, grinning slightly.

"Could come in handy…" Flicking the power of the machine off, he picked it up, marvelling at how heavy it was. For such a complicated device, it looked surprisingly unremarkable, a small, celestial bronze box, wires sticking out of the sides, a small funnel protruding from one side, a small keypad, taken from an old 'Blackberry' phone moulded into one side. It still weighed what, it Leo's mind, was far too much. Hauling it up to the deck, he pulled a wrench (non-cheeseburger) from his tool-belt and began to fix the device onto the railing next to Festus, who clicked happily in Morse code to him. Tapping out a swift reply with one hand, he continued to fix the machine- the 'Mist Machine' as he had _very_ creatively named it- to the railing. Festus peered at it curiously, then snapped his glinting head up as a thunderous crash split through the air. Leo gripped tightly onto the rail as the deck shook, and the bronze masthead gave a startled creak, a plume of fire flickering briefly from its jaws. Scanning the deck, the son of Hephaestus' eyes widened as he caught sight of a gaping hole, smoking lightly, torn in the planks of the deck. Raising his wrench defensively, Leo edged towards the hole, and peered over cautiously into it. He let out a gasp as he saw that the hole had also ripped through the floor of Jason's old cabin, ending in the engine room, where something nestled, curled up tight, smoke curling from its form, lying on the floor.

"What the…" He trailed away, and motioning for Festus to be silent, he raised the wrench again, feeling the metal heat up as flames licked apprehensively over his hands. Running down to the stairs, Leo burst into the engine room and scanned the situation.

The thing on the floor was a girl.

Leo narrowed his eyes at her. She seemed to either be sleeping or unconscious, probably the latter, due to the mess she had made of the floor. Feeling slightly more secure that a random cyborg or monster hadn't crashed through his ship, he crept closer, and studied the girl more closely. She was strange, that was for sure. Her face was smeared with soot, but Leo could just make out a dusting of freckles over her nose, and she had wavy, copper-brown hair, also tangled with soot, but the weirdest thing was what she was wearing. From what he could judge from a distance, Leo guessed that her dress was plated with celestial bronze, strips of it coating the skirt, a chain-link weave of it covering the rest. Even her shoes seemed to be made of metal; Bronze boots with strange patterns carved into them. Suddenly a shocked exclamation startled Leo, and he looked up in surprise to see the girl's eyes open, a startling, vivid golden colour. The brown-haired boy backed away. The shade of her eyes; it was unnervingly alike to the eyes of someone possessed by an eilodon, a thing he knew from experience.

"Where am I?" Asked the girl, wiping the ash away from her face. She narrowed her eyes at Leo, and pushed herself into a sitting position, the metal plating on her dress clinking softly.

"You're on my ship." He stated, still unnerved by the strange girl who had crash landed through the floor of the Argo II. The copper-haired girl snorted.

"It's not your ship." She stated, folding her arms. Leo gritted his teeth.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't." _This is stupid…_ grumbled Leo to himself.

"What makes you think that it isn't mine?" He questioned the strange girl, and she rolled her unnaturally shaded eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Teenagers don't have ships." Leo frowned. She had made a good point. He looked around, searching for a good comeback, then spotted it. A golden shaded pistol, hanging at the girl's hip. Smirking, he inclined his head, gesturing towards it.

"Teenagers don't have guns." The Girl folded her arms and pouted childishly.

"Fine. You win." She grumbled, before, putting out a hand to steady herself, she staggered to her feet, metal clinking louder this time. Suddenly, the girl's hand flew to her head, and her eyes widened as she touched the hair. A spark of panic ignited in her eyes and she looked side to side wildly, her breathing rate beginning to pick up pace as she whirled around, scanning the shadows frantically.

"Oh thank goodness!" she exclaimed suddenly, before plunging away and grasping what, at first glance, Leo thought was a lump of metal, but then the girl slammed it down on her head and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Leo's eyes widened. The girl was wearing a helmet crafted into the shape of a dragon, complete with ornate golden horns and gleaming red eyes.

A perfect replica of Festus.

"What the Hades is going on!" Looking upwards and shouting in exasperation to the sky, Leo let his frustration out, calling out to the Gods in anger. He looked back to see Festus-hat-girl staring back at him, one eyebrow raised, an unimpressed look on her face.

"You're weird." She stated simply.

"And you have no tact." Snapped back Leo, letting irritation get the better of him. Festus-hat-girl gave him a smooth, cold 'Shut-up-or-I'll-murder-you-in-your-sleep' look, and tossed her coppery hair over her shoulder.

"Who are you anyway?" Demanded the son of Hephaestus, trying not to show that Festus-hat-girl's cold, golden gaze had seriously scared him. The girl narrowed her eyes in thought, and glanced around herself, she studied her feet, shaking them out one after the other, then moved onto the hem of her dress, tapping her fingers on the metal plating. Then, she moved onto her hands, and let out a small gasp, and Leo, curiosity getting the better of him, leant in to see what she had spotted. He saw it; a small, black, italic scrawl, engraved into the Festus-hat-girl's wrist. He tried to decipher it, but his dyslexia jumbled up the words until they were illegible. He didn't need to read it though. The girl made it clear what they said, and Leo's eyes widened at what she said, shock exploding inside of him.

"I-I think my name is Argo…"

**A/N: And the first chapter is done! I hope you liked it, and reviews are greatly appreciated! I won't continue unless I get enough reviews, so send them in! I also need some help deciding where this story will be heading! Along with any comments, just tell me which one of these you would prefer!**

**Leo X Argo**

**Leo and Argo are originally friends, then Leo X Argo**

**Leo and Argo are originally enemies/rivals, then Leo X Argo**

**Leo and Argo are friends**

**Leo and Argo are enemies/rivals**

**Argo X another character (if you want this, please state which character!)**

**They are the choices, but if you have any more, just add them instead! This fanfic was partly inspired by a doctor who episode I watched, and partly by a drawing I saw on the internet!**

**Due to the annoying amount of Fanfics I have on the go at the minute, I won't be updating this too often. I'll try to write good chapters to make up for it though!**

**Storm signing out! **


	2. Chapter 2: Not exactly friendly

**A r G o**

**Chapter two: Not exactly friendly**

"What?!" A sudden pulse of shock raced through Leo's body, and he stared at the girl, who was staring intently at the scrawl upon her wrist. Blinking her copper-gold eyes, the girl held her wrist out for the son of Hephaestus to study. Forcing the words into the correct order, Leo gasped. Just as the girl had said, the italic writing spelled out on single, shock-inducing word.

_Argo_

"You look confused." Stated the so-called Argo, rocking backwards and forwards on the heel of her metal shoes, causing a clinking sound to resonate around the engine room.

"No kidding." Leo grumbled, staring at the ground. Suddenly a theory began to form in his mind, and his eyes widened as he murmured to himself.

"No… That would be impossible…" He trailed away as the sound of metal sounded, and Argo came closer, head tipped to one side inquisitively.

"What would be impossible?" She asked innocently, tapping out a pattern on the bronze plating of her skirt. Leo shook his head, but Argo folded her arms and looked at him, annoyed.

"It's obviously_ something_!" Leo didn't answer, so she reached to her side and flicked out the pistol, weighing it between her hands. The son of Hephaestus took one look at the gun, and sighed.

"Fine. It's just, this ship is named the Argo II, and your name is Argo. The ship is made of Celestial bronze, which your dress is plated with, and your helmet looks exactly like the dragon masthead. I-I-I think that you may be the Argo II, but as a human." Argo's eyes widened in surprise, but then she let out a loud snort.

"That's ridiculous." She commented, and Leo felt a spark of annoyance flare inside of him, causing his hands to smoke; irritated.

"It's a bit too much of a coincidence, don't you think?" he countered, but Argo gave him a disdainful look, and flipped her gun back into its pouch.

"I think your lying." Leo was fast losing patience with the copper-haired girl, and marched over to her. Grasping her wrist, he shuddered for a second at how cold it felt.

_Just like metal_… His brain told him. He shook away the thought, and walked forwards, pulling a complaining Argo after him.

"Come on. I'll show you that I'm telling the truth." Leo spoke without looking back, then let out a gasp of pain as Argo slammed her metal-coated foot into his shin. Recoiling from the girl, he shot her an angry look, the sneer on her face infuriating him. Studying her as she glared at him, he had to admit that she was pretty, smooth waves of copper-brown hair falling down her back, the slight dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, the determined look on her face.

_Shut up, brain!_ He snapped to himself, jerking his gaze away from Argo, who gave him a smirking grin.

"You were staring." She pointed out, arms folded. Leo looked away, slightly embarrassed, but covered it up.

"You have soot on your face." He stated, and not giving her time to reply, he made his way towards the stairs, gesturing for Argo to follow him.

"Come on. We don't have all night." Grumbling to herself, the girl stalked forwards, the Festus hat slipping slightly so that the 'eyes' caught the light and gleamed ruby. Bronze shoes clicking on the stairs, the golden-eyed girl trudged after Leo, constantly muttering mutinous words under her breath. The son of Hephaestus could have sworn he heard her debating whether to shoot him or not, and walked slightly faster. As they emerged above deck, Argo lost her threatening demeanour, and gazed around in wonder, taking in the size of the bunker, marvelling at the lights glinting on the scale-like weave of her dress, taking in the ship in front of her.

"T-t-this is me… I believe you…" She whispered breathlessly, fingers drumming out a pattern on her skirt again. Leo focused in on the sound, and his eyes widened.

Short tap, Long tap

Short tap, Long tap, Short tap

Long tap, Long tap, Short tap

Long tap, Long tap, Long tap

She was using Morse code. Leo strained to translate, and shock frazzled through him again.

A R G O. A R G O. A R G O.

Over and over again, she tapped out the sequence, until she realised that Leo was watching. Shooting him a scorning look, she forced her fingers to be still, and gazed towards the end of the ship, where Festus sat. Hand rising to touch her helmet, she walked cautiously up to the metal dragon, who swung his head around. Leo flinched as Festus opened its mouth, afraid that he would blast Argo, but instead he let out a long, crooning noise, eyes blazing with recognition. Extending her hand, Argo moved towards Festus, attempting to place a hand upon his head in greeting.

_He'll burn her!_ Leo opened his mouth to shout a warning to the girl.

"Argo, he's-" He was cut off as the golden-eyed girl rested her hand upon the Celestial bronze creature's muzzle, showing no signs of pain.

"He's what?" Leo couldn't reply. Astonishment shuddered through him, and he ran over to the place where the girl stood, snatching her hand away from the dragon's head and studying it closely.

Nothing.

Where there should have been burns from the heat emanating from the bronze creature, there was only normal flesh, still unnaturally cold. Pulling her hand away, Argo shot Leo a hateful glare, anger intensifying her eyes to a shade of vivid, pure gold.

"Get off me!" she shouted, before turning her attention back to Festus, who clicked happily to Argo in Morse code, the two engaged in deep, silent conversation.

"I hate to disrupt your little bonding session, but I really need to get you to Chiron." Spat Leo, forcing as much venom into his voice as possible. Eyes narrowed angrily, Argo tapped a swift goodbye to Festus, who let out a sad creak.

_Bronze girl is nice though!_ Festus complained in a series of crestfallen clicks and squeaks. A surge of jealousy swept through Leo, and he glared at Argo, then turned around, arms folded, feeling smoke curl angrily from his hair. Argo skipped ahead to join him, smirking.

"Jealous that Festus likes me better than you?" She teased, earning a Death-glare from the son of Hephaestus. Shrugging it off, the copper-haired girl followed Leo out of the bunker, but shied away from the entrance as she saw the rain lashing down outside.

"Scared of the rain?" he taunted, as Argo stood nervously in the protection of the rocks, staring at the ground.

"N-no…" she stammered nervously.

"I-it makes my hat rusty." Leo snorted, walked forwards, seized the girl's wrist and tugged her out into the rain. Instantly, her hands flew above her head in an attempt to shield her hat from the water streaking down from the sky.

"What's so special about this hat anyway?" Leo queried, leaning forwards and plucking the dragon helmet from her head. Panic flared in the girl's eyes, and she staggered violently to one side, slipping in the mud, crashing into a tree. Throwing herself back to her feet, she made a lunge towards Leo, grasping at the hat with her hands but sailing past it, missing by almost thirty centimetres. Off balance, she slipped again and crashed to the ground, lashing out blindly, choking sounds emitting from her throat. Startled, Leo forced the Hat back towards her, and she slammed it back onto her head, eyes wild as she staggered back to her feet, a murderous look on her face.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" she shrieked, tossing her hair over her shoulder, eyes burning intense gold, a smear of mud wiped on one cheek. Leo backed away, holding his hands up in surrender, genuinely afraid of the wild-eyed girl. She didn't seem to be calming down, and took a menacing step forwards. Leo's eyes widened again as he noticed something through the rain.

Smoke.

Smoke was curling from Argo's body, twisting into the air, flickering from her arms and hands, heat radiating from her. She placed her hand angrily up against a tree to push past it, then let out a gasp of horror as a hissing sound came from the wood. Snatching her hand away, Leo could see the blackened, smoking scorch marks her touch had left, burnt deep into the wood. Argo's eyes were now fearful, wide and frightened as she stared down at her hands, which were now glowing faintly, smoking lightly.

"What's happening?!" she demanded to Leo, who dropped his position of surrender and outstretched a hand, touching Argo's hand lightly. Even through his usual inability to feel heat, even he felt uncomfortable touching the intense fiery warmth of the golden-eyed girl's arm. Argo pulled her arm back, muscles tense with fear, but Leo only smirked, studying her, admittedly impressed.

"It looks like you have a set of powers of your own."

**A/N: How was this chapter? Not my best, I admit, but it was fun to write! I've decided how this story will go now, so no more suggestions! Review; they are very much appreciated!**

**Storm signing out!**


	3. Chapter 3: So this happened

**A r G o**

**Chapter three: So this happened. **

Argo looked at Leo, her eyes narrowed angrily, smoke still curling from her limbs, all sense of confusion seemingly lost.

"I'm glad you figured that out, genius." She snapped, before turning away and walking off in the complete opposite direction.

"Where are you going?!" Leo called after the copper-haired girl, who spoke without turning her head, her bronze boots crunching heavily through the leaves.

"How about anywhere away from you?" _ Harsh…_ The son of Hephaestus commented mentally, but stood back, thinking of a way to get the girl to come back.

"There are monsters in the woods!" He called out experimentally, but Argo didn't, respond, continuing to walk on.

"It'll kill you!" Argo shot him a golden glare over her shoulder, eyes glinting unnaturally in the darkness.

"Do I look like I care?" She snorted, before tossing her hair over and stalking pointedly away from Leo. Despite the fact that her back was turned, the son of Hephaestus could almost visualize the disdainful look on the girl's face. Rolling his eyes, he walked away in the opposite direction.

_How could I make something so annoying?_ He grumbled to himself, before blinking heavily as a droplet of water slid down his face into his eye.

Then something screamed. Normally, Leo would have run towards the source, Demigod instinct taking over, but instead, he let out a sigh.

"I told you so." He muttered under his breath, before running through the rain as the screams intensified. Lighting his hands on fire, he burst through the trees to see Argo, back pressed against a tree, five two-meter long scorpions lashing wickedly spiked tails, jabbing towards her.

"Look out!" Leo drew back his arm and let a plume of fire detach from his hand, sailing towards one of the scorpions. It skimmed past Argo, narrowly missing her, then crashed into its target, the oversized insect bursting into flames before exploding into dust. Argo, however, seemed less than impressed, and, seeing a gap in the wall of stingers, leapt nimbly out of the way, landing in front of Leo, an expression of pure fury on her face.

"Are you determined to kill me?!" she demanded, motioning to the place where Leo's fire had scorched her outfit. The anger seemed to pass on to the son of Hephaestus, and he shouted back;

"Would you rather be killed by scorpions?! I _saved_ you!" The girl seemed about to bite back with a sharp retort, but her eyes seemed to glint with an unusual light, and she called out;

"Duck!" Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" He questioned, but Argo surged forwards, pressing her hand against his shoulder, forcing him down, then whipping out her gun and shooting directly over the top of his head. A scorpion exploded into dust just meters from Leo's back. Seeing the rest of the creatures regroup, Argo seemed to snap into battle mode, eyes shining and alive, gun held with an almost careless grace. She sprung away from Leo, jumping into the thick of the battle. The son of Hephaestus could only watch as she shot one scorpion directly between the eyes, the golden dust fluttering to the ground, before jumping to avoid the sting of another, slamming it into the ground with a kick from her bronze boot, before sending it to Tartarus with a bullet to the head. Smoke was already curling from her arms again, the rain beginning to hiss as it touched her, but she was caught off guard, and one of the scorpions jabbed at her arm with its leg. Blood splattered the ground, but Argo seemed oblivious to the pain, and continued fighting, another bang tearing through the forest as the scorpion was met with another bullet, the dust raining down like confetti. With one creature left to kill, Argo whirled around, dodged the stinger, and prepared to fire.

The gun made a clicking noise, and didn't shoot.

"What?! No! It can't be out of bullets!" Panic flaring in the girl's eyes, Leo considered stepping in as the scorpion advanced, eyes glinting through the rain, but Argo simply tossed her weapon to the side, and smoke curling from her hands, charged head on towards the final creature, slamming her hands down on its head. The two-meter insect screeched and writhed in pain, and Argo backed away. The monster fell to the ground, handprints scorched into its face, before collapsing and exploding into dust, returning to Tartarus.

Standing up, the girl raised her head to the sky, and Leo couldn't help but stare at her. Her hair was plastered to her face by the rain, her hands glowed slightly, like embers, and her eyes were wild and alive, shining in the light. Brushing a curl of her hair from her face, she straightened her Festus hat and glared at Leo.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped, eyes narrowed.

_She's even pretty when she's angry…_ reminded some annoying part of Leo's brain, and he grumbled out loud;

"Shut up brain." Argo raised one eyebrow at him as she heard him talk to himself.

"Are you mad or something?!" the copper-haired girl questioned, walking away as she spoke, recollecting her gun and spinning it back into its pouch. Leo was tempted to say yes, but thought better of it.

"No. Come on, we need to get to camp." Argo rolled her eyes and folded her arms, but obeyed, stalked forwards. The rain seemed to be fading away, now only the occasional droplet plunging from the sky and crashing into the ground.

_Like little, malfunctioning planes…_ The ADHD part of Leo's brain wandered off subject, and he drifted away into his own world of rain-planes and annoying ships.

"LEO!" He was interrupted by the frustrated voice of Argo, and snapped out of 'Leo world' as she gave him a firm shove, almost pushing him over.

"Some use you'd be in a battle if you keep doing that." She snorted, adjusting her Festus hat as it slipped in front of her eyes. The son of Hephaestus didn't even bother to reply, and continued to walk ahead, almost sighing in relief as he saw a gap in the trees.

_The sooner I can get rid of her, the better…_ Leo wished that Argo had stayed as a boat. Then, she couldn't talk, which, to be perfectly honest, he would be absolutely fine with.

"Hey, Jason, Piper!" Upon seeing his friends, Leo ran from the cover of the trees and joined them, not caring whether Argo had bothered to follow or not. Piper ruffled Leo's hair as he joined them.

"Working on the Argo again?" she questioned, noticing the fact that he was soaked from the rain. At the mention of the name of the ship, the brown-haired boy flinched.

_Just great…_ he grumbled to himself._ She's even made me hate the name… _

"Earth to Leo?" Jason waved his hand in front of his friends face, and he snapped back to reality.

_Need to stop doing that…_ He commented mentally, but forced a grin, and answered Piper's question.

"Yeah, you could say that." He wasn't lying exactly. He _was_ working on the Argo II, that was until it spat up a human manifestation that tried to kill him. He decided to keep the last part to himself. Suddenly, Jason narrowed his eyes, gaze focused on something behind Leo.

"Leo, move away slowly…" the son of Jupiter hissed the command through gritted teeth, and Leo looked at him, puzzled.

"I saw someone in the woods. I think they had a gun." It took Leo a split second for Leo to register what Jason had seen, but even less time than that for the blue-eyed boy in front of him to shoot out his hand, the wind rushing past Leo and dragging a yelling, struggling Argo out into the clearing by her ankles. Confusion darted across Jason's face, and Leo looked towards him sympathetically.

"I think you just got yourself a death wish."

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter was a bit shorter than the others! I hope you enjoyed it though, and don't forget to review!**

**Storm signing out!**


	4. Chapter 4: She has a gun

**A r G o**

**Chapter 4: She has a gun**

It was fairly safe to say that Jason was, figuratively speaking, dead. Scrambling up from where she was sprawled out flat on the ground, Argo, shaking out her dress, eyes burning coldly, flicked out her gun and stalked over to where the son of Zeus stood, frozen in shock, and pressed the bronze metal against his forehead, a click resonating out into the air as she loaded it, staring into Jason's eyes with a deadly malice. Gaze flickering to the side in panic, the blonde-haired teenager raised his hands in surrender, feet planted into the ground, practically shaking in fear.

"Are you going to apologise?" The girl's voice was cold and deadly as she stood, feet twisted into a shooting stance, the barrel of her pistol pressed against Jason's forehead, smoke rising steadily from the exposed flesh of her arms. Seeing the look of pure fear on his friend's face, Leo, clenching his fists in anger at Argo, called out.

"She's ran out of bullets!" Whirling around faster than Leo could register, Argo flexed her finger around the trigger, a look of cruel mocking etched into her face.

_BANG!_ The ground, mere centimetres away from Leo's feet exploded, dust and earth flying out to the side, sending the son of Hephaestus scattering to the side, the sound of the gunshot echoing in his ears, causing his head to spin. A plume of smoke rose from the impact of the shot, and Leo shot Argo a glare, fear working its way up inside of him.

"Are you crazy?!" he demanded, storming over to the golden-eyed girl, who stared back at him, gun resting casually in the palm of her hand. "You could have freaking killed me!" Shrugging in a relaxed manner, Argo twirled the weapon in her hand once, then slotted it back into place at her hip, tossing her copper hair over her shoulder.

"I'm a good shot." Flashing Leo a smirk, she turned back to Jason, folding her arms across her chest and leaning backwards on the heels of her feet. "I still want an apology." Seeming to regain his voice in the absence of the gun, the son of Zeus swallowed, and muttered some hasty words, gaze flickering towards Argo's pistol in anxiety.

"Leo, who is this?" Piper, an unsettled look in her colour-shifting eyes, questioned the son of Hephaestus, looking Argo up and down as she did so, taking in the Festus helmet, golden eyes and loaded gun, hand flying to her side where her dagger hung, glinting in the sunlight.

"It's complicated..." _Understatement of the millennium... _Leo added the last part in his mind, willing that Piper would just accept the fact that a random stranger with a gun had appeared and threatened her boyfriend. No such luck.

"I have time." Sighing heavily, Leo shot one last glance at Argo, who had become preoccupied in a thorough examination of her name tattoo on the wrist, and spoke.

"Would you believe me if I told you that she was the human form of the Argo II?" A thoughtful expression briefly passing across her face, Piper raised one eyebrow questioningly, and shook her head, the feathers attached to the end of her braid quivering softly with the movement.

"No."

"Well, too bad, because that's what she is." Eyes wide with shock, Piper's vision shot from Argo, to Leo, then back to Argo, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"How..." She trailed away as Jason put his arm around her shoulders and spoke, contributing his thoughts to the situation.

"How can she be the Argo II? If she was, she wouldn't be trying to shoot me." Casting an indignant glare at the copper-haired girl, he looked back over to Leo, who was standing, staring at his feet, eyes narrowed in thought. "It just doesn't make sense..."

"Oh, she's the Argo alright. I can sense it." Snapping his head up, Leo saw a shadow pass over him, then whirled around to see the freckled face of Rachael Elizabeth Dare behind him, vivid green eyes flashing with amusement. Fixing Rachael with an inquisitive glare, Argo, hands clenched by her sides, crept over, head tilted to one side in an amusing act of curiosity.

"Who are you?" she questioned, narrowing her metallic eyes. Smiling, the Oracle held out a hand, and grinned welcomingly, face framed by her almost flame-like hair.

"Rachael Elizabeth Dare, host of the Oracle of Delphi." Accepting the gesture tentatively, Argo shook Rachael's hand, then looked back over to Leo, an accusing glare upon her face.

"Did you send her to make me be friendly?" the copper-haired girl's arms began to smoke lightly as she stalked purposefully over to the son of Hephaestus, and stared at him expectantly, eyes cold and dangerous. Backing up, Leo placed his hands in the air submissively as the girl clenched her fists, tapping a foot, the metallic sound it made creating a tense beat in the air.

"I don't know what problem you have with me." He spoke, eyes narrowed, locked in an unconscious staring contest with Argo, gold against brown, tension crackling in the atmosphere.

"You're annoying. You're full of yourself. You have no respect. Do I need to go further?" Seemingly enjoying herself, Argo raised her hand, the smoke intensifying, the flesh beginning to glow weakly, her eyes flashing with wicked light.

"And it never passed your mind that I may have thought the same about you?" Smirking back, Leo folded his arms across his chest, unfazed by the heat emanating from the copper-haired girl's body.

"Oh, it crossed my mind. What you think, however, is irrelevant." Laughing, the son of Hephaestus hot back a reply, almost enjoying himself.

"Oh, I'm irrelevant, am I? Well how embarrassing must it be to know I created you." A spark of insecurity flickered across Argo's eyes, a brief glint of gold, fading away, barely sighted, however Leo saw it, the shimmer of flame amongst the cold steel. "And how must it seem, to know that I could just un-create you at any second." Tilting his head towards the Festus hat, the Demigod relished in the panic in Argo's eyes, leaning back, satisfied. He was unprepared.

The moment he let his guard down, Argo, barely a flash of metallic light, sprinted towards him, whipping out her gun and pressing it against Leo's chest, head tilted to one side, breath whistling from between clenched teeth, hair damp against her forehead, face smeared with soot, eyes blazing. The son of Hephaestus felt his heart rate pick up as she reached out and forced his head upwards, fixing his gaze with her own, a crooked smirk showing glinting teeth flashing to life upon her face.

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

**Writers block is evil.**


	5. Chapter 5: Less than Human

**A r G o**

**Chapter 5: Less than Human**

Argo had been alive for exactly 20 minutes and 35 seconds, and she already knew three things.

One: She had no memories outside of what was now 20 minutes and 40 seconds ago.

Two: Machines and guns were unexplainably fascinating.

And three: She hated Leo Valdez.

The boy from the ship. The very thought of him made her blood boil. Her hands clenched into fists by her sides as his name passed into her mind, smoke curling into the air of the cave she had been dragged to.

"Hey! You're going to make the place stink!" Glancing upwards, Argo caught sight of the flame-red mess of hair that indicated the presence of Rachael Elizabeth Dare, the 'Oracle', or so it was proclaimed. She had been landed with the girl, whose optimism infuriated her, for the sole reason that they were both humans. Turns out she had crashed into 'Camp Half Blood', where people who were half-god were trained to fight monsters. Add number four to the list.

Argo was definitely not a Demigod.

Sure, she had her smoke powers and fire resistance, but other than that; she was perfectly human. However, as it seemed, she wasn't viewed as a mortal either. Her steady heartbeat and practically bloodless, cold skin made her seem more like a machine than a living being- which may have been the truth. She bled and breathed like a human, yet she was as cold and lifeless as metal. The thought twisted her brain into knots.

"I think that Mr. D should be ready to see you now!" Looking up towards Rachael, Argo stood up, her bronze-plated dress clicking softly, copper hair falling down her back in a tangled mess as she motioned to the Oracle to lead the way, her hands still curled into balls by her sides, the click of her boots against the stony ground following her out into the open sky, the rain still trickling down in slow, steady streams from the ashen grey clouds, Splattering onto the now mud-slicked earth. A small sigh escaped the female as she walked, the thoughts preying on her mind, each sight fresh and new, though the glares hurt. People were _staring_ at her, whispering in mocking tones, like she was an exhibit in a museum, made for nothing but their amusement. But again, Argo was neither human nor Demigod.

A walking, breathing machine.

Not alive.

Shaking her head in frustration, the girl felt anger explode inside of her, and she whirled on the nearest Demigod, eyes flashing and skin smoking furiously, a blazing mess of flames and rage.

"Sure, just stare at me! Take pictures- I'll last longer! Go on! Laugh at me! I _dare _you!"

Oh, how cruel the silence was.

It tore into Argo like a bullet from her own gun, and she let her hands drop to her side, the hiss of the rain all she could hear, hair slicked against her face, the steady, mechanic ticking of her heart under her metal scale dress an ever-present reminder that she was less than human. Did she want to be human? The question was forced to the back of her mind as she whirled around, the sound of a loud, angry voice catching her attention.

"Metal girl! Get over here right now!" Despite the urge to rebel against the command, Argo could recognise the authority of the male, his loud, bright shirt physically offensive to her eyes as she walked over, eyes dark and shadowed by her helmet, the copper strings of her hair hanging down her back, hands curling into fists, not wanting to let her defences down. Stepping inside the house alongside Rachael, who had fallen uncharacteristically silent.

"Going to try and kill me again?" The voice sent a spark of anger through Argo once more, but she forced it down, a low, inhumane growl bubbling in her throat.

_He_ had to be here.

On one of the chairs in the house sat Leo Valdez. Argo had to mentally restrain herself from embedding a bullet in the boy's forehead. Sitting down stiffly on a chair as far away from Leo as she could, Argo glared over at the rest of the figures in the room, golden eyes falling upon the man in the shirt, Rachael, and a man in a wheelchair with kind eyes. The lack of judgement in the final figure caused the female to relax slightly, sitting backwards in the chair, letting the tension that coiled in her muscles release slightly.

"Okay, so, Lee-"

"Leo" The boy corrected, the shirt-guy's mispronunciation of his name causing Argo to snort loudly in amusement. "It's Leo, Mr D."

So the shirt-guy was Mr D. Argo couldn't help but feel disappointed. For the leader of the camp for half Gods, he looked a little... Inadequate.

"Right, Louis, if what you're saying is correct, this lady here fell out of the sky, crashed through the floor of your ship, and was completely unharmed- then took on a whole group of scorpions in the forest, on her own, in less than half an hour. To me, it seems a little far-fetched for a mere human." The urge to punch the so-called 'Mr D' in the face was gradually building inside Argo.

"If I might add, Mr D, I don't believe that this young lady is completely human." The man in the wheelchair was speaking. Argo felt a sense of calm settling over her from the tone of his voice. "I have my reasons to think that she is the human incarnation of the Argo II. She should stay at Camp Half Blood." More treatment as being less than human- her purpose being discussed in front of her face, as if she couldn't hear. But hear she could.

"Well, I agree that she should stay, but where?! We don't have a boat-human cabin, in case you hadn't realized!" Rachael spoke up, glancing regretfully over at me.

"I'd offer for her to sleep in the cave with me, but there's no room..." She trailed away, shaking her head slightly, her flame-red curls bouncing on her shoulders slightly.

"There's the Hephaestus cabin." All gazes turned to Leo, Mr D's indifferent, Racheal's curious, The man in the wheelchair's hopeful, Argo's full of hate, willing him to say no, her hands inching closer towards the gun that sat in her lap.

"Sure."

Damn it.

**Yeah, Yeah, I know, I didn't update in ages. And I know that this fanfiction goes against the ending of Blood of Olympus too, but it's a fanfiction, right? Try and see it as a 'what if' of sorts. **

**Storm signing out!**


	6. Chapter 6: Butterfly

**A r G o**

**Chapter 6: Butterfly**

Argo would have loved the Hephaestus cabin, if it wasn't for the presence of Leo Valdez.

The machinery that filled it, the faint tang of metal that hung in the air, the slow, relaxing hiss of the machines, it filled her with an elation that she hadn't felt yet, and would probably have been right at home. That was ruined though, by the insufferable presence of the boy with the flames. Argo still hadn't figured out why she hated him so much, only that she did indeed hate him, and she planned to continue hating. The copper-haired girl let out a loud, aggressive sigh, then glanced over at Leo.

"Hey. Valdez. Where do I sleep?" The curly-haired male shrugged, then gestured at an empty seeming bunk halfheartedly.

"Take that one. Figure out the controls yourself." He paused, then smirked widely. "Unless you can't manage it, then just call for me." Argo snorted in contempt at the Son of Hephaestus' comment, and moved over to the bunk wordlessly, hauling herself up off the ground and onto the platform that sat suspended at around shoulder-height, before sitting cross-legged on top of it and reaching for the panel of blinking lights that sat at the foot of the bed, feeling a surge of power run through her fingertips at the contact with the wired-up metal, a spark of understanding sparking in her brain, telling her exactly what each button did. One moved the bunk up off the ground, the other moved it down, probably into a small compartment on a lower floor of the cabin. There was one to tilt it forwards, one to tilt it backwards, and another to activate a light that hung from the frame of the bed. Smirking to herself, the copper-haired girl sent an internal message to Leo.

_Still want to try and help me, Valdez?_

Flicking the button to retract the bed downwards, Argo flopped back onto the covers of the bunk as it started a shuddering, slow descent into the floor.

_I'm going to have to fix that. This is too slow._

She though to herself, the slow pace of the bunk's descent angering her. As she finally began to dip below the floor, the golden-eyed girl noticed the lack of people in the cabin. In fact, other than Leo, who sat on his own bunk, poking at a small, metal dragon, she was the only one here. Well, that was perfectly fine. A panel slid over her head, leaving Argo sitting cross-legged in a small, metal-walled room, only enough room for the bunk and a small chest, which, as she opened it, seemed to be full of supplies, pieces of metal, wires and tools, along with a stack of guidebooks. Casting a disdainful glance at the instruction booklets, Argo resolved to set fire to them at a later date. Then, grinning to herself, she reached into the chest and pulled out a scrap of metal, forcing her hands to heat up, and consulting her internal guidebooks. She might not know much, but she damn well knew how to make things.

Half an hour later, Argo was sitting in a pile of metal butterflies, their wings twitching slightly as she reached over to make what was her 26th set of wings. She had no idea what to do with them, but that wasn't the point. Who doesn't love metal butterflies. The girl in the dragon hat had replicated the design of a butterfly that she had spotted outside as her and Leo walked to the cabin, and had planned to make one or two. Numbers which boredom turned into 25, soon to be 26, tiny golden creatures that littered the bed, ready to be activated and sent flying to wherever they took themselves. Pressing the 'up' button on the panel for her bed, Argo let herself rise upwards again, then, as she did so, began flicking on the switches on their backs, each one of them fluttering their thin, metal wings before ascending into the air, the first one slipping free of the room and exploding into the main cabin. Hearing a surprised noise, Argo flicked on the rest of the butterflies and urged them upwards, laughing as a swarm of metal creatures exploded into the cabin above.

As her head rose above the line of the floor, she caught sight of the cabin, now filled with at least 10 new people, all looking around and trying to figure out where the butterflies had come from.

"Leo, who's that?" A girl with swept back blonde hair pointed towards her, looking her up and down in confusion, taking note of her metal dress and dragon helmet, the ruby eyes that sunk into it glinting menacingly in the lighting of the cabin as she slowly rose to the bunk's normal height, sitting on the bed in the midst of the butterfly swarm, the 26th butterfly still sitting in the palm of her hand, waiting to be activated.

"Argo, what are you doing? Where did you get all of these things?" Leo's irritated voice came from the side of the cabin as he reached up and tried to pluck one of the butterflies from the air, but missed, much to Argo's amusement.

"I made them." She spoke cheerily, rocking backwards on the bed and leaning against the wall. "I thought that you'd enjoy them, and look, you're being all disrespectful!" The looks eyes of pretty much everyone in the cabin were focused on her by now, she swung her legs around and leaped down from the bunk, her metal boots slamming loudly into the floor, the bronze panels of her dress clicking together. Reaching up, she plucked a butterfly from the air and flipped it off so that it sat in her hand, it's wings quivering slightly.

"My name's Argo. I'm living here now. Whatever Leo's told you about me, it's probably not true." Argo noted the still confused gazes of the children of Hephaestus, and tossed the butterfly to the ground, stamping it into the metal-plated ground.

"No, I'm not a demigod. I don't know what I am. I don't know much stuff to be honest." The copper-haired girl smirked, pulling out her gun and spinning it around her hand.

"But let me tell you now- I'm as good as any of you in here, and if you want to tell me otherwise," Argo was enjoying the fearful looks on the camper's faces, their confusion and admiration making her want to laugh hysterically. "I'll blow your brains out." Raising her had in a mock salute, Argo clambered back onto her bed, and descended back into her room, hearing questions start flying like bullets the moment she dipped below the floor.

She was having far more fun than she should have been, that's for sure.

**Well, short chapter, but at least I updated, right?**


End file.
